Slow Down and Spend Time with God

The soul is the most overlooked aspect of our Christian life. Prior to salvation, we allowed our heart to advise us, control us and comfort us. This does not refer to our blood pumping organ, but our inner self of thoughts, choices and emotions - our soul (Proverbs 4:23, 15:13, 23:7; Matthew 12:34-35). This way of life is weak, at best, but all we had.

When we come to Christ, our spirit is Born Again, and we begin the adventure of living in and by the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:16-25). This is when we start to mistrust our soul, and rightfully so. However, we also ignore the needs of our soul, thinking that they are carnal and unholy. Some of our soul's demands are unrighteous idols, which we lay at the altar for sacrifice (Romans 8:6-7; 1 Corinthians 3:3).

Yet, many of our soul's desires are given to us by God, and He wants to supply them through His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19; Ephesians 3:16). We can nurture our soul by listening to praise songs, reading God's Word, learning a new hobby, taking college courses that interest us, making new Christian friends, planting a garden, exercising to trim down and raise endorphins, serving in the ministries of our church, planning a healthy snack to look forward to every day, joining Bible study classes, etc.

The most powerful way to nurture our soul, however, is to be a friend of God. It takes time to develop this relationship, but it is so nourishing to our body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Slow down and spend time alone with God. You will focus on the wholesome side of life, find peace and joy in the midst of negative circumstances and feel God's presence in each moment of the day.

Prayer:

Father God, Satan has his agenda for our life, and we merrily follow his lead until we come face to face with Your invitation to accept Jesus as our Savior. Satan's deception is no match for Your presence in our life. He fades into the background and loses the battles he wages for our soul. Your Spirit nurtures our body, soul and spirit as we follow Your direction for each new day. We love You and give You all the praise and glory for Your wondrous intervention in our life.

Thought for the Day:

God's Spirit transforms our soul into the image of Christ throughout every moment of our life. - 2 Corinthians 3:18

A Lifestyle to Live

 

God came into our life to take control of it. He is not satisfied with a tithe of our life. He wants all of us...the complete package. He wants us to entirely surrender our life to Him. This includes our goals, desires and will. He wants it all. As Christians, we are the embodiment of Christ in us. We crucify our self-centeredness and replace it by centering on the fullness of Christ in us (Ephesians 3:16-19, Amplified). As we die to our selfish nature, our humanity decreases and He increases (John 3:30). There is less and less of us, and more and more of Christ living in and through us.

Christ is the head and Savior of the Church. In God’s order, husbands submit to God (1 Corinthians 11:3). Contrary to the philosophy that corrupted families in today’s society, God chose the husband as the leader of his wife and his household. He does this by laying down his life for them through supporting, loving, encouraging and cherishing his wife and children (Ephesians 5:23). Then, God calls wives to wholeheartedly submit to their own husband, just as we submit to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22,24). We put our husband and his needs first in the priority of our day. We treat him and speak to him with honor and respect.

This does not mean that we do not get on one another’s nerves, or that we do not disagree sometimes. We even lose our temper with one another. However, if we live a lifestyle of mutual service as co-heirs with Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:6), then we honor one another above our self, our friends and the rest of our family (Philippians 2:3). No disagreement is more important than our commitment to God and one another. As far as it depends upon us, we live in harmony with our mate (Romans 12:18). We do this because God gives us both the desire and the ability to walk in His ways (Philippians 2: 12-13).

The Christian life is impossible to live without Christ living it in and through us. We can never boast, because we are simply an expression of God’s grace. Due to our union with Christ in salvation, we cease our striving and enter God’s divine rest regardless of the circumstances in our life (Hebrews 4:1,10). Apart from Christ, we cannot accomplish anything of eternal value (John 15:5). We may make a difference on the earth, but it is a drop in the ocean of time compared to what God wants to use us to accomplish for His Kingdom. We simply live out the works, which God prepared for us to perform before the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 2:9-10).

Prayer:

Father God, when someone or something comes against Your beloved children, You take if very personally, (Zechariah 2:8). You take vengeance on anyone who harms Your Saints, and you repay them for the harm they do to us (Romans 12:19). We are very precious in Your sight (Isaiah 43:3). With this hope in our hearts, we trust that You will always help those who seek You (Psalm 9:10). Your grace shapes our life according to Your perfect will for us. Help us to remember that Your will for our life is not a goal to reach, but a lifestyle to live.

Thought for the Day:

Let us come to the place of being so dead to our humanity that Christ’s perfection in us takes over our life.